Of the many memorials and monuments in D.C. the one that moves me the most and always makes me feel very very sad for a number of reasons is the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. Over 58,000 American troops were killed in Viet Nam along with approximately 5 million Viet Namese, Cambodians and Laotians for more info click here. Add to that all the post-war crap that Viet Nam veterans such as my brother Steve have had to deal with following the war and it only makes what was a bad situation that much worse.
It is tempting to do so, but I will refrain from making any correlations between Viet Nam and what is going on today in the Middle East. Suffice it to say however that thousands of American troops and Middle Eastern people are being killed and wounded. And our veterans are still returning home in various states of injury and post-war trauma. All for what?
Recognizing our veterans past and present here’s Bruce summing things up quite well in the following video: